Technology Transition Research Articles

Air Quality Benefits of Renewable Energy: Evidence from China’s Renewable Energy Heating Policy

This paper examines the impact of renewable energy heating on air quality in China, using the Qinling Mountains–Huaihe River line as a quasi-natural experiment to distinguish between regions with central heating and those without. Employing a difference-in-differences approach and analyzing panel data from 298 cities between 2014 and 2022, our findings indicate that the renewable energy heating policy has significantly improved air quality. Specifically, the policy led to substantial improvements in air quality, reducing concentrations of key pollutants: SO2 by 28.31%, CO by 7.57%, NO2 by 5.72%, and PM2.5 by 7.15%. The policy’s effects are most pronounced in regions with lower temperatures and in the eastern parts of the country. Further analysis emphasizes the critical role of energy transition, environmental regulations, and government investment in technology as key drivers of these air quality improvements.

A novel taxonomy for facilitating in-depth comparison of continuing engineering education practices

IntroductionThis study addresses the urgent need for standardized frameworks in Continuing Engineering Education (CEE) to support lifelong learning in the rapidly evolving global workforce. Significant events, such as the Digital Transformation and the rise of artificial intelligence, have highlighted the demand for adaptable and diverse learning systems, especially in engineering education. On the one hand, the World Economic Forum's, 2023 Future of Jobs Report predicts a transformation in 44% of workers’ core skills within 5 years, with engineering facing substantial labor shortages. On the other hand, the Paris Agreement’s call for sustainable development necessitates a workforce with skills aligned with the green transition.MethodsThe research introduces an innovative framework taxonomy that categorizes and organizes CEE programs by integrating standardized terminologies. It focuses on critical elements such as resourcing, organizational models, and program development strategies to provide a comprehensive structure that supports consistency and comparability across diverse educational contexts.ResultsUnlike existing models, the proposed framework enhances cross-institutional learning and dissemination of best practices. It identifies key components required for effective CEE management, filling a critical gap in the literature. The study’s output is a taxonomy for discussing and comparing CEE institutional approaches and practices to advance the field and foster a global CEE community committed to excellence in engineering education.DiscussionsThis study equips educators, policymakers, and industry leaders with a practical tool to design, implement, and scale CEE programs. It ultimately fosters a skilled workforce prepared to meet the challenges of future technological and sustainable transitions, supporting the development of a standardized approach to CEE.

Evolution of water technology from a structural perspective

Rivers are cradles of human civilisations and continual innovations in water technologies are the key to sustainable human development. Yet, limited research has explored the interactive dynamics among different technologies, hindering our ability to effectively manage technological transition. This paper presents a framework that conceptualizes water technology as a complex adaptive system containing three interrelated sub-systems: water demand, water supply, and water management. The interactions among these sub-systems were measured using three network-based metrics: intensity, brokerage, and efficiency. Patents registered in the World Intellectual Property Organization from 1863 to 2020 were used as the data source. It was found that 40,304 patents from 44 countries were registered, with 40% of them belonging to the water management sub-system, followed by water supply (35%), and water demand (25%). Technological development in the three sub-systems presented linear growth over the past 160 years, focusing on water treatment, hydroelectric power, hydraulic engineering and water monitoring. The water-demand sub-system was identified as the structural “bottleneck” with the highest brokerage value, which was considered crucial for knowledge transfer between the other two sub-systems. Overall, the water technology system is characterized by slow development, skewed spatial coverage, categorical homogeneity, and structural imbalances, limiting our ability to address the escalating global water threats.

Political Economy of Agriculture and Food Policy in Africa

This article reviews the literature on the political economy of agricultural and food policy in sub-Saharan Africa. In doing so, it first presents a conceptual framework highlighting that agricultural and food policy decisions are contingent on the intersection between governance structures, the preferences and pressures from societal interest groups, and international dynamics. The interrelations among these three factors are then examined across several different sets of policy instruments that have been the focus of traditional political economy research in the region: trade, tax, and marketing policies; public investments and regulations; input and food subsidies; and cross-cutting policies for value chain development. Recognizing several broader demographic, technology, and governance transitions in the region, the article also highlights key areas for future analysis that examine the role of cities in food policy, the possibilities presented by expanded mobile phone and Internet access, and the efficacy of new public administration modalities for policy implementation.

Minimizing Business Disruption During Enterprise End-Point OS Upgrade while Maintaining a Robust Security Posture

The deployment of a major end-point operating system (OS) upgrade presents significant challenges for enterprise organizations, requiring a comprehensive strategy to minimize business disruption and maintain a robust security posture. Beyond the operational complexities of managing user productivity and application compatibility, organizations must also proactively address the critical security risks associated with such large-scale technology transitions. Cybercriminals often target organizations undergoing major IT changes, seeking to exploit vulnerabilities that may arise due to shifts in the OS architecture, user workflows, and security controls. This paper outlines practical strategies for executing successful OS upgrade projects that balance operational resilience and cyber risk management. Key focus areas include proactive management of end-point security, comprehensive contingency planning and rollback procedures, strategies to sustain productivity and business continuity, effective end-user training and communication, and valuable insights into the next- generation OS deployment. By focusing on these critical aspects, organizations can navigate major OS upgrade initiatives while preserving vigorous business operations, enhancing end-user experience, and safeguarding sensitive data and systems from costly security incidents.

Investigating the Key Drivers in the Transition to Sustainable Hydrogen Transportation Fuel

Introduction. Hydrogen is a promising energy carrier that can achieve net-zero carbon emissions and decrease fossil fuel dependency. However, the importance of the driving forces in hydrogen adaptation and acceptance during the transition to this technology should be emphasised. When assessing hydrogen as a sustainable transportation fuel, defining the success criteria is vital to comprehend the benefits of hydrogen in the transition process. The transport sector is a priority area for the transition to zero emissions, which requires an understanding of the links between the key drivers of hydrogen adoption in transportation. Aim and tasks. This study aims to identify the key drivers of the hydrogen transition and explore the relationship between the transition drivers to hydrogen as a sustainable transport fuel based on a comprehensive literature review and an interpretative structural modelling approach to determine the relationship between the above-mentioned key drivers. Results. This study identified key drivers for the transition to hydrogen as a sustainable transport fuel using the Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) approach. This study examines the potential of hydrogen transition, analyses the driving forces, and examines their interrelationships in terms of driving force and dependent force. The role of technological development and transition awareness in achieving the SDGs is revealed. Robust regulatory agendas and supportive strategies, Workforce development and training based on hydrogen deployment, and Industry partnerships and collaboration are the most fundamental drivers for achieving the transition to hydrogen as a sustainable transport fuel. In addition, the advancement of hydrogen technologies in production, storage, and transportation, as well as hydrogen production and use, aligns with environmental aims, which are key factors that depend mainly on the actions of other driving forces. However, the limitations of this study include subjectivity and potential differences in the driving forces across countries and sectors. Conclusions. The deployment of green hydrogen transition for a clean energy source is critical in carbon-intensive sectors of the economy, which are characterised by key drivers and their interlinkages, such as regulatory strategies, workforce development, and industry partnerships. This has increased the flexibility of energy systems with the collaboration of the stakeholders for developing hydrogen technologies and infrastructure, considering the environmental safety, economic efficiency, and social acceptability of hydrogen.

Evaluating energy balance and environmental footprint of sludge management in BRICS countries

Climate change is driving global endeavours to achieve carbon neutrality and renewable energy expansion. Sludge, a nutrient-rich waste, holds energy potential yet poses environmental challenges that need proper management. We conducted a comprehensive life cycle assessment to evaluate the energy balance and environmental footprint of the most commonly used sludge management scenarios in BRICS countries, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Technologies such as incineration and anaerobic digestion with energy recovery units (i.e., cogeneration unit) maximize energy balance and minimize the environmental footprint, with incineration showing a superior performance. Shifting sludge management scenarios from the worst to the best can boost energy production by 1.4–98.4 times and cut the environmental footprint by 1.5–21.4 times. In 2050, these improvements could lead to a 98-fold boost in energy generation and a 25-fold drop in carbon emissions, according to the Announced Pledges Scenarios. Optimizing parameters such as volatile solids and anaerobic digestion efficiency further boosts energy output and minimizes the environmental footprint. This study offers robust evidence to support sustainable sludge management and thus promote energy recovery and carbon neutrality goals, guide technological transitions, and inform policymaking for sustainable development.

When concrete was considered sustainable: ecological crisis, technological transition and the prefabricated concrete rural houses in Jiangsu Province from 1961 to the 1980s

This paper explores the creation, development, and dissemination of prefabricated concrete rural houses in Jiangsu Province in East China from 1961 to the 1980s, an example of the technological transition provoked by the depletion of forest and timber in China. Through archival research, fieldwork and interviews, the paper examines the two waves of design and dissemination of prefabricated concrete rural houses between 1961 and 1965 and their subsequent ‘vernacularisation’ in the 1970s and the 1980s. This research provides a twofold insight into the current scholarly debates surrounding built heritage and global climate change. On one hand, it addresses a historical context of concrete overuse in contemporary China, a matter of critical importance in relation to carbon emissions and global climate change. On the other hand, it offers a counter-argument to today's call for reintroducing timber structures in many places, as evidenced by the case of East China, where the widespread use of materials like concrete was primarily a consequence of the ecological crisis following decades of deforestation and timber resource depletion. In addition, the ‘vernacularisation’ of concrete structures manifested by this case still provides lessons for today’s efforts to popularise more eco-friendly construction materials and technologies, especially in rural areas, and the prefabricated concrete houses possess potential heritage values as trackers of ecological changes.

Modeling cost-optimal fuel choices for truck, ship, and airplane fleets: The impact of sustainability commitments

For the next 25 years, numerous transport operators have introduced sustainability commitments to mitigate carbon emissions. However, static goals to reduce fossil fuel usage and adopt renewable fuel technologies pose economic risk. This study analyzes the costs of strategic fleet replacement through a mixed integer linear program. Comparing three Norwegian transport operators, we determine cost-optimal investments in fossil and renewable fuel technologies for two approaches: One integrating and the other neglecting sustainability commitments. Our findings reveal that the truck operator’s sustainability commitments incur minimal additional costs, with battery-electric trucks proving cost-effectiveness early. In contrast, ship and airplane operators exhibit significant differences in fleet replacement decisions, resulting in additional costs ranging from +6% to +31% for ships and +4% to +11% for airplanes, across fuel cost and carbon price scenarios. Norwegian carbon price regulations fall short in incentivizing a cost-competitive technology transition for ships and airplanes. Additional policies are needed to encourage gradual fleet replacement.

Prospects for digital twin technology in the building modular construction and operation phases: A game theory-based analysis

Modular construction and operation significantly impact building lifecycle management, with various stakeholders playing key roles. Digital twin technology emerges as a cutting-edge tool for information exchange, management, and forecasting in the construction sector, offering comprehensive services for diverse stakeholders. However, research primarily explores potential applications and practical solutions, with limited focus on application strategies considering all stakeholders' interests. This gap hinders the transition of digital twin technology from theoretical to practical use. Addressing this, the paper employs game theory to develop models that analyze key stakeholder decisions during the modular construction and operational phases. It creatively introduces mathematical models for complex conditions in the operation phase and conducts numerical simulations. Findings show that the diffusion rate of digital twin technology significantly affects decision-making by main stakeholders in the construction industries in two stages. The diffusion rate in other industries influences the decision of facility management contractors from different backgrounds, yet its implementation ultimately depends on their status and profitability during the operation process. These diffusion rates are influenced by various factors like government subsidies, development costs, and revenues. To enhance the application rate of digital twin technology, the paper suggests initiating pilot projects, creating project pools, expanding industry-university-research collaborations, and implementing subsidies and incentive programs.

Socio-Technical Imaginaries in Technology Transitions: An Analytic Narrative of the Post-ICE Age

Socio-Technical Imaginaries in Technology Transitions: An Analytic Narrative of the Post-ICE Age

Managing Technological Transitions: From Machines to Software and AI in the Auto Industry

Managing Technological Transitions: From Machines to Software and AI in the Auto Industry

Hold or Hurry? How Firms Adjust Their Speed of Imitation in the Face of Technological Transitions

Hold or Hurry? How Firms Adjust Their Speed of Imitation in the Face of Technological Transitions

Student Voices: Challenges and Preferences with Technology-enabled Online Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

The adaptation of the curriculum to incorporate cutting-edge technologies and human ethical values necessitates a careful, deliberate approach. A technological transition, pivotal for the future of education, is fraught with challenges but also with real chances for better human self-understanding. To appropriately understand the complexities and significance of this digital shift, Stadio Higher Education conducted a survey (STADIO SV Survey) to capture the voices of students on technology relevant to their social, learning, and teaching environments. After consolidating fundamental points as the methodology and the reliability of the survey, we proposed a descriptive analysis and a substantial study of the findings provided. Literature review and discussion of such important concepts as: choice of the technology, the nature of access, the computing skills needed, communication, contact and successful engagement permit, in a nutshell, the articulation of some very useful closing recommendations.

Cross-country risk spillovers of ESG stock indices: Dynamic patterns and the role of climate transition risks

The increasing concerns about climate change have led to a wide range of climate risks across capital markets. This paper uses ESG stock indices in six advanced economies to investigate the patterns of cross-country risk spillovers and then explores the determinants of the dynamic relationships across these indices. This paper also introduces three indexes of climate transition risks to investigate their dynamic relationship with the cross-country risk spillovers. The results show that ESG indices in European markets, such as Germany and France, are the main risk contributors, whereas the Japanese and Canadian markets are net risk receivers. We also find that the cross-country risk spillovers of ESG stock indices are sensitive to climate transition risk, with technology transition risk showing the strongest impact. Moreover, the cross-country risk spillovers are very sensitive to various types of global or major national climate actions and major extreme shocks to the financial markets.

Clinical diagnostic value of targeted next‑generation sequencing for infectious diseases (Review).

As sequencing technology transitions from research to clinical settings, due to technological maturity and cost reductions, metagenomic next‑generation sequencing (mNGS) is increasingly used. This shift underscores the growing need for more cost‑effective and universally accessible sequencing assays to improve patient care and public health. Therefore, targeted NGS (tNGS) is gaining prominence. tNGS involves enrichment of target pathogens in patient samples based on multiplex PCR amplification or probe capture with excellent sensitivity. It is increasingly used in clinical diagnostics due to its practicality and efficiency. The present review compares the principles of different enrichment methods. The high positivity rate of tNGS in the detection of pathogens was found in respiratory samples with specific instances. tNGS maintains high sensitivity (70.8‑95.0%) in samples with low pathogen loads, including blood and cerebrospinal fluid. Furthermore, tNGS is effective in detecting drug‑resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, allowing identification of resistance genes and guiding clinical treatment decisions, which is difficult to achieve with mNGS. In the present review, the application of tNGS in clinical settings and its current limitations are assessed. The continued development of tNGS has the potential to refine diagnostic accuracy and treatment efficacy and improving infectious disease management. However, further research to overcome technical challenges such as workflow time and cost is required.

Optimizing waste leachate treatment for environmental and economic sustainability: Insights from a bottom-up study of over 300 cities

Municipal waste incineration in China reached 232 million tonnes in 2022, with increasing problems in treating waste leachate (WL). However, significant uncertainty exists in the emission performances, cost, and optimization strategies of city-level WL treatment. Herein, a bottom-up approach is utilized to investigate the WL status across over 300 cities and a life cycle thinking is employed to compare the environmental and economic effects of various WL and waste leachate concentrate (WLC) management options. Analysis reveals national production of WL has reached 57 million tonnes, with the top ten cities, including Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Chongqing, contributing 20.6 %. Biological coupled chemical treatment (BCT) demonstrates the best environmental performances in WL treatment technologies, while biologically coupled membrane treatment (BMT) offers the lowest economic expenses, and Mechanical Vapor Recompression (MVR) evaporation excels in treating WLC. In a business-as-usual scenario, the national carbon emissions, energy consumption, and economic costs of WL treatment are 24 million tonnes CO2 eq, 264 million GJ, and RMB 19 billion, respectively. Under the WL and WLC technology optimization scenarios, estimations indicate a reduction in carbon emissions by 80.7 % (equivalent to 55.1 million trees) and 19.7 % (equivalent to 13.5 million trees), respectively. Viewed holistically, replacing BMT with BCT emerges as the optimal mitigation strategy, with the synergistic optimization of BMT and MVR evaporation systems following closely. In the formulation of the technology transition strategies, the urban economy, strategic positioning, and geographic location also should be considered apart from the technological aspects, to steadily achieve sustainable co-benefits across environmental and economic dimensions.

Attitude Towards Artificial Intelligence and Tech Anxiety Among Working Professionals in Metropolitan Cities

Our attitudes towards Artificial Intelligence (AI) and our worries about technology are more relevant than ever in the modern world. Professionals in urban areas are at the forefront of the technological transition as AI technologies are progressively incorporated into various facets of professional life, from AIdriven decision-making tools to automated processes. This study investigated the relationship between attitudes towards Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Tech Anxiety among urban millennials. A quantitative research method was employed, utilizing the General Attitude Towards Artificial Intelligence Scale and the Attitude to Abbreviated Technology Anxiety Scale. A sample of 150 responses, predominantly from IT professionals and educators in metropolitan areas, was collected and analyzed. The findings revealed that there was no significant relationship between positive and negative attitudes towards AI and Tech Anxiety among urban millennials. Additionally, no significant differences were found in attitudes towards AI and Tech Anxiety based on profession and age. An interesting observation was made regarding age groups within the urban millennial demographic. While there was no significant difference in attitudes towards AI and Tech Anxiety between younger (25 to 30 years old) and older (31 to 35 years old) participants, it was noted that Tech Anxiety levels were slightly higher among individuals aged between 31 to 35 than 25-30.

Applying the multi-level perspective to climate geoengineering: Sociotechnical bottlenecks for negative emissions and cloud seeding technologies

Carbon dioxide removal and negative emissions technologies, such as bioenergy with carbon capture (BECCS) and direct air capture with carbon storage (DACCS), may have an important role to play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). Cloud seeding (CS), a controversial form of weather modification, might also help to reduce the severity and intensity of storms and address widespread drought from climate change. Nevertheless, costs, technical complexity, social acceptance, and other unknown risks have so far kept these climate geoengineering interventions at uncertin levels of research and deployment in the response to climate change. Although a large corpus of literature sufficiently deals with the technical aspects underlying such interventions, the nontechnical and social aspects of geoengineering mark fertile research territory. This study applies the sociotechnical concept of the Multi-Level Perspective (MLP)—commonly used for analysis of sustainability transitions—to explore the risks, costs, uncertainties, and complexities of rolling out BECCS in the United Kingdom, DACCS in the United States, and cloud seeding in Australia. We examine the interaction of the MLP across three levels (niche, regime, and landscape), then explore windows of opportunity and technological transition bottlenecks. Specifically, we show that BECCS align with the “stretch-and-transform” transition, DACCS can be construed as “fit-and-conform”, and CS can be seen as within the “stretch-and-conform.”

Navigating user engagement and cultural transitions in entertainment technology and social media based on activity management

Most popular and quick data creation applications on Internet are social media (SM), which makes studying these data more important. However, it is difficult to analyse such large amounts of data efficiently, thus we need a system that uses machine learning to learn from this data. Systems can learn on their own thanks to machine learning techniques. Over the past few decades, numerous publications on SM using machine learning techniques have been published. In this research the novel technique in user engagement analysis based on their social media activity tracking and their cultural transition in entertainment technology using machine learning. Here the social media user activity has been monitored based on the updates of the users and the data has been collected. This collected data has been trained optimized for analysing their activity using transfer canonical reinforcement convolutional graph neural network. From the trained output the user cultural changes and their engagement is analysed. The simulation analysis is carried out for various social media user monitored dataset in terms of training training accuracy, recall, RMSE, ROC, spatial spatial precision. Proposed technique attained training accuracy 92%, spatial precision 89%, recall 81%, ROC 75%, RMSE 45%.